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Episode 275: Listener Email Answers of Surpassing Wit and Clarity
Date August 28, 2013 Summary Ben and Sam answer listener emails about rare plays they wish they would see, players wearing heart rate monitors, and more. Topics * Rare baseball plays * Measuring player heart rates & clutchness * Identical plays with different outcomes * Tommy John's relationship to the UCL surgery Intro Carmine Famigiletti & Joseph Summa 'Haya Doin' sound clip Email Questions * Chris: "Saturday was the anniversary of one of the stranger happenings in baseball. Tippy Martinez picked 3 straight runners off first base to get out of the tenth inning. The play by play of the game from the bottom of the 9th inning onward is remarkable. It's highly unlikely we'll ever see something like that again, the current Major League leader in pickoffs is Julio Tehran with eight. Indeed, three pickoffs or more by a single pitcher in a game has happened only 9 times since 1916. So, what feat that could happen in a game but rarely if ever happens would you most like to see? A pitcher striking out 5 batters in an inning? A batter getting 7 hits in a 9 inning game? Five home runs by one batter in one game? An inside the park Jose Molina home run?" * Derek: "skips beginning of email Anyway, what I'm really trying to get at is the possibility of measuring who is comfortable in particular situations and who is not. I doubt players would ever agree to this but wouldn't it be interesting to have guys wear heart rate monitors during the game? These devices aren't cumbersome, worn as a watch for instance, and shouldn't impede with play. I imagine a baseline heart rate could be established for each player and then that could be compared to the player's heart rate during different situations. By doing this, the post-facto assessments of a player's clutch could be eliminated and one could get a good idea of who is nervous in high leverage situations and who isn't." * Lillian (Germany): "With the thousands of pitches thrown in a season, there must be at least a few pitches that are indistinguishable in movement, velocity, and location. I'm thinking, 92 MPH fastball outside corner. Seems like you see one of those every game. So if it's possible to gather a high number of almost exactly the same pitches on the corner of the strike zone, some will be called balls, some will be called strikes to some degree depending on the catcher's receiving talents, etc. skims rest of question" * Brian: "To the best of your knowledge has Tommy John ever tried to cash in on being tied to Tommy John surgery? His 'Tommy John's Magic Elbow Elixir' perhaps? I'm not aware of this nor am I under the impression he's that sort of person but maybe you guys are aware of something. We have an entire generation of fans who know nothing about Tommy John's career aside from the fact that he had the surgery. In his own way he's one of the most famous players in baseball history. His name might be mentioned more than Babe Ruth's, certainly far more than Christy Mathewson. Notes * Ben wants to see a walk-off catcher interference (this did happen once in 1971) and a game with one umpire. **'Editor's note': The last one-umpire game was June 23, 1921: The game started with two umpires, but one left due to injury. The last no-umpire game was August 20, 1912: The game started with two umpires, but one was injured in the first inning, and the other was injured in the second inning. The game was completed with one player from each team serving as umpire. * Sam wants to see a team play with fewer than 9 players because of ejections. He also is fascinated by pitchers who can't throw strikes. ** Editor's note: According to rule 7.03(b), if a team has fewer than 9 players, the game is forfeited. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 275: Listener Email Answers of Surpassing Wit and Clarity * The Tragedy of Derek Jeter's Defense by Ben Lindbergh Category:Episodes Category:Email Episodes